Campaigners in the North-east have reacted angrily to EU action against HM Customs for cracking down on holidaymakers bringing cheap tobacco back to Britain.

Retailers Against Smuggling (RAS), the campaign of the Tobacco Alliance, said the organisation fully supports the fight against smuggling and the abuse of cross-border shopping.

John Abbott, the North-east spokesman of RAS and a Darlington retailer, said: "Tobacco smuggling has a devastating effect on corner shopkeepers up and down the country.

"A recent Retailers Against Smuggling survey found one in four corner shopkeepers were considering closing down their business as a result of tobacco smuggling so any activity that customs carry out to combat contraband tobacco getting into the UK will safeguard the jobs of retailers and their staff.

"The root cause of the problem is the difference in tobacco tax between the UK and other countries in the EU and beyond.

"It is this difference that gives the smugglers the incentive to carry out their crime."